College Track Star Andrew Goodman Shares The Impact Of Coming Out On His

Photo by Erik Hall

Sports writer Erik Hall does a great job chronicling Colorado State track star Andrew Goodman's coming out journey over at Outsports.

Weaving in and out of the years long coming out process was the impact that coming out actually had on Goodman's sport.

Via Outsports:

The morning of his final college cross country race, Andrew Goodman arranged his spikes and running bib to take a picture. He wrote earlier in the week a two-word phrase on the outside arch of his black and yellow shoes using a rainbow of color markers. His competitors would see the phrase as they chased him, but the phrase was intended for him.

#BeTrue

Goodman, a Colorado State distance runner, posted the photo on social media before competing at the 2014 NCAA Cross Country Championships in November. Until that morning, Goodman always separated being gay and an athlete.

" 'You didn’t run well because you’re a gay boy and you like boys, so you’re not as tough.' That sort of mentality is one of things that I hesitated about for the longest (time) and kept me from it," Goodman says. "You don’t want to be viewed in a different light."

Using the phrase Nike adopted for its LGBT inspired clothing line, the 22-year-old embraced being different.

Really excellent read. Congrats to both Hall and Goodman for sharing this personal trek. Read the entire essay on Outsports.